Mitchell Callahan

Dirty Harry had another fight against a much bigger opponent. He got the W in a pretty bad fight. I didn't notice the A on his jersey anymore so maybe someone came back from injury that got it or something?

60 gp 45 points. The season is getting close to wrapping up but this is huge improvement from last year, can't help thinking that now since the guy is outta Cali he's probably getting some better coaching and better teammates and he's just oing to keep getting better.

Pluses: Over the course of prospect camp, Mitchell’s talkativeness and a few quips and quotes yielded a reputation to which he’s not going to live up to. No, Mitchell’s not going to be the next Bob Probert. He’s too small at a very honestly-listed 5’10” and 175 lbs—he will never be a power forward who can drop the gloves and overpower his opponents. But he will, as Jim Nill suggested, bring something to the table that the Red Wings currently lack, and that’s the reason he earned a contract as a 19-year-old playing for the Kelowna Rockets.

If you can remember far back enough, and recall Dallas Drake at the start of his career—or the end of it—watching a fresh-faced young man acquire frequent cuts and nicks because he led with his face as he roared into the corners at full speed, crashing into opponents on the forecheck, grinding pucks out down low on the cycle and passing said pucks to more offensively talented forwards, working his tail off to kill penalties and block shots and passes at the other end of the ice, all while playing exceptionally responsible defensive hockey, and oh yeah, by the way, knocking the fear of Gord into his opponents because he can bowl into and bowl over them all over the ice, with his fists backing up his checks and protecting his teammates when necessary…

That’s Mitchell. He’s not particularly big, and he still has to get stronger, but he is the consummate “glue guy” grinder who can occasionally and enthusiastically fight. Callahan is a superb north-south skater whose speed, acceleration, and strength on his edges allow him to change direction in a hurry and provide that stocky body with a longer-legged gait than he actually possesses, and again, a caveat—we’re not talking Kris Draper or Darren Helm fast. We’re talking Drake, Maltby in his heyday, those kinds of comparables. But he is a fantastic forechecker who uses his speed to get the jump on his opponents and bang their bodies into the boards to separate them from the puck in all three zones of the ice, but especially in the offensive zone, where he’s a threat to any defenseman not careful with the puck near the end board and/or coming around the boards on the “hard around,” and in the defensive zone, where he can get up to speed in a hurry—going forward, backward, or changing direction via lateral strides—and mash opponents into the side boards to separate them from the puck, or perhaps clear it himself.

And that’s why comparisons to Darren McCarty don’t work, either. Callahan’s not as large as McCarty, but he’s a better skater and his hands are better, much like, again, Dallas Drake. Callahan’s game is grounded in sound defensive play, because he excels at keeping a short “gap” between himself and his defensemen, he blocks passes well with his stick and can slide to block shots on occasion, and, mostly, he simply tries to be a defensively responsible forward in all situations, using his speed to make up for any errors in judgment in committing to a check when he should’ve simply focused on backchecking.

But his hands are very, very good, too. He was used as the forechecking forward on Landon Ferraro’s line, and his ability to crash and bang on the forecheck to retrieve the puck and hustle up and back down the ice in a hurry both generated offense via smart passing or showcased the fact that he can deke and dangle decently and has a good shot. Callahan can play the two-way forward’s role.

Most impressively, however, Callahan worked very hard to make sure that he was mastering the technical details of the game. Before, during, and after drills, Callahan was the player most likely to be found talking to Curt Fraser, Jim Paek, Jiri Fischer or Keith McKittrick if he wasn’t absolutely sure where he was supposed to position himself while getting from point A to point B to most aggressively gobble up ice to help generate scoring chances and prevent scoring chances against. He wants to get the technical details right, and when he talked to me about systems play, he never ceased to impress me about understanding that it was imperative for him to learn as much as possible about improving himself as a player, whether engaging in drills with the coaches, skill-building drills with Thomas Storm, or skating sessions with Andy Weidenbach.

Minuses: His size, and to some extent, his strength, are big stumbling blocks. Callahan still needs to get “bigger and stronger” in the sense that he’s already pretty “big” for his build, but must pack on at least ten more pounds of muscle, especially in his thighs, core and upper body, to ensure that he doesn’t get overpowered by the bigger and stronger forwards in pro hockey. He’s going to have to prove people wrong about his size the whole way along his developmental curve, and there’s not much room for error there given his style of play.

He’s also probably going to produce offense on a point-per-game pace in the WHL this season, and to assume that the 19-year-old can post more than, at the top end, 10-15 goals and maybe 30 points at the NHL level is simply unreasonable.
Mostly, he’s already got a big reputation already, and despite the fact that he’s always struck me as very level-headed and intelligent, albeit supremely confident in himself, he can’t let all this talk go to his head. Callahan has to continue to get bigger, stronger, and more technically adept in terms of his fundamentals and stick and skate skills, all while remembering that he’s still far, far away from the NHL as a 19-year-old riding the buses as a WHL’er. If all this talk goes to his head, a Mitchell Callahan working at anything less than 100% of his available effort and playing at anything less than 100% engagement in the game isn’t a Mitchell Callahan that will make the NHL.

He can’t let his patience slip, either, as he will doubtlessly face the same developmental curve that Darren Helm and Justin Abdelkader have. He’s going to be a Grand Rapids Griffin for at least two years, and that’s just how things go.

Potential “upside”: Again, if he continues to get “bigger and stronger” and continues to develop as a player while ensuring that hard work is his bottom line, we’re talking about a Dallas Drake-style forward who is a forechecking dynamo, plays sound and responsible defensive hockey, can kill penalties, intimidate and agitate his opponents with the requisite level of fists backing his agitation up, and if all goes well, chip in a few goals from time to time because he’s skilled enough and smart enough to play as a crash-and-bang forechecker on a scoring line. Just as the Red Wings had essentially been searching for a Bob Rouse-like defenseman from the moment they got rid of Bob Rouse until they acquired Brad Stuart, the Wings hadn’t found a real replacement for Dallas Drake until they reacquired him, and Mitchell Callahan could fill that niche as a Swiss Army Knife forward with a gravelly, gritty edge.

Mitchell Callahan, a mini-mite and ball of energy who’d go to the net, get cross-checked into the net or in the head, and pop right back up to get ready for the next faceoff, and bam, he’d go right to the net or tangle with opposing forwards along the boards, both giving and taking hits while bouncing around like a pinball and roaring in on the forecheck with superb speed.

There's his on-ice persona of a physical agitator who will say and do just about anything to get an opponent off his game. Then there's his infectious off-ice personality that makes him a dressing-room favourite.

"There are two personalities, the one on the ice and one off the ice," Callahan said. "My on-ice personality stays there and my off-ice personality is just the person I am."

The Whittier, Calif., native quickly won over his Detroit Red Wings teammates at the annual NHL prospects tournament in Traverse City this week, earning the reputation as the team clown.

"He keeps the mood light," Landon Ferraro said. "He's someone who likes to get into everything but at the same time he's a good hockey player. Cally is someone you can look at and know he's going to do something funny without even knowing it."

Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith, who first met the 5-foot-11 right-winger last year, admits he wasn't sure what to make of him before getting to know him.

"Callahan's a great guy," Brendan Smith said. "I didn't know what to expect because you hear a lot about him being a fighter and a tough guy. You wouldn't know he's a real tough guy because he's kind of a little sweetheart. Every team has that one guy who's kind of charismatic and cracks jokes."

Callahan, who has 353 penalty minutes and 39 fighting majors the past two seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, believes part of his role on any the team is to help loosen up his teammates and get them comfortable. He certainly doesn't seem to mind being source of the comedic entertainment, either.

"You don't want to get too much tension going on in the room," he said. "I like to open some guys up who are quiet. I like getting the energy going in the room, and cracking jokes is what I do."

Drafted in the sixth round (180th overall) in the 2009 draft, Callahan thrives on being a pest. He's most effective when his opponent is goaded into taking a retaliatory penalty or is more focused on Callahan than the game.

"I am not really known for scoring goals as you can tell," said Callahan, who had a modest 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 72 games last season. "I like being the agitator and I like getting people pissed off. It's what I like to do."

Callahan will use just about any tactic to get to his opponents and he's constantly yapping.

"Sometimes I have to go personal to get better players off their game," Callahan said. "I feel bad about that but it has to be done. I usually use stuff about them not being that good in one department of hockey. Some of the words I say are not really appropriate for this interview but it gets them going."

Callahan was a staple on Detroit's third and fourth lines in Traverse City this week, providing the grit and physicality the Red Wings expect from him despite going without a point in four games.

"I think I am doing what they ask me to do out there," Callahan said. "I just want to be the energy guy who sucks players into penalties. I think I have been doing fairly well at that this week."

Callahan, who has added about 15 pounds of muscle since he was drafted and is now up to 190, will return to Kelowna for a third season and hopes to develop his skills and "maybe get thicker."

He won't have to worry about his contract status since the Red Wings signed him to a three-year entry-level deal at the end of last season.

The contract gave the 19 year-old extra motivation to work hard this off-season.

"It seems like they really want me to be in this organization and they really want me to be in Detroit one day," Callahan said. "It kind of opened up my mind a bit to work out a little harder this summer and to push for my dream of playing in the NHL."

i certainly want him in the organization and to be able to watch him as a red wing some day.

65 Mitchell Callahan: Weasel. Pest. Shift-disturber. Endlessly enthusiastic checking forward with the offensive chops to serve as Landon Ferraro’s partner in crime. The kind of player who gets cross-checked in the head, wriggles his helmet off and pops up with that poofy haircut and gap-toothed smile asking if that’s all his opponent can give him. He likes to fight on occasion, but is mostly an agitator and an energy forward who’s far smarter than his appearance lets on. He works very hard.

There's his on-ice persona of a physical agitator who will say and do just about anything to get an opponent off his game. Then there's his infectious off-ice personality that makes him a dressing-room favourite.

"There are two personalities, the one on the ice and one off the ice," Callahan said. "My on-ice personality stays there and my off-ice personality is just the person I am."

The Whittier, Calif., native quickly won over his Detroit Red Wings teammates at the annual NHL prospects tournament in Traverse City this week, earning the reputation as the team clown.

"He keeps the mood light," Landon Ferraro said. "He's someone who likes to get into everything but at the same time he's a good hockey player. Cally is someone you can look at and know he's going to do something funny without even knowing it."

Red Wings defenseman Brendan Smith, who first met the 5-foot-11 right-winger last year, admits he wasn't sure what to make of him before getting to know him.

"Callahan's a great guy," Brendan Smith said. "I didn't know what to expect because you hear a lot about him being a fighter and a tough guy. You wouldn't know he's a real tough guy because he's kind of a little sweetheart. Every team has that one guy who's kind of charismatic and cracks jokes."

Callahan, who has 353 penalty minutes and 39 fighting majors the past two seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, believes part of his role on any the team is to help loosen up his teammates and get them comfortable. He certainly doesn't seem to mind being source of the comedic entertainment, either.

"You don't want to get too much tension going on in the room," he said. "I like to open some guys up who are quiet. I like getting the energy going in the room, and cracking jokes is what I do."

Drafted in the sixth round (180th overall) in the 2009 draft, Callahan thrives on being a pest. He's most effective when his opponent is goaded into taking a retaliatory penalty or is more focused on Callahan than the game.

"I am not really known for scoring goals as you can tell," said Callahan, who had a modest 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 72 games last season. "I like being the agitator and I like getting people pissed off. It's what I like to do."

Callahan will use just about any tactic to get to his opponents and he's constantly yapping.

"Sometimes I have to go personal to get better players off their game," Callahan said. "I feel bad about that but it has to be done. I usually use stuff about them not being that good in one department of hockey. Some of the words I say are not really appropriate for this interview but it gets them going."

Callahan was a staple on Detroit's third and fourth lines in Traverse City this week, providing the grit and physicality the Red Wings expect from him despite going without a point in four games.

"I think I am doing what they ask me to do out there," Callahan said. "I just want to be the energy guy who sucks players into penalties. I think I have been doing fairly well at that this week."

Callahan, who has added about 15 pounds of muscle since he was drafted and is now up to 190, will return to Kelowna for a third season and hopes to develop his skills and "maybe get thicker."

He won't have to worry about his contract status since the Red Wings signed him to a three-year entry-level deal at the end of last season.

The contract gave the 19 year-old extra motivation to work hard this off-season.

"It seems like they really want me to be in this organization and they really want me to be in Detroit one day," Callahan said. "It kind of opened up my mind a bit to work out a little harder this summer and to push for my dream of playing in the NHL."